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He's on TV as host of the TLC show Ultimate Cake Off. Last Saturday, I caught him running the kitchen at his stylish Japanese pub Izakaya at the Borgata in Atlantic City. And effective Wednesday (8/19), he's in the demo phase of his restaurant Sampan, just off 13th and Sansom at 122 S. 13th St. It's targeted for November. (Here's what else is brewing in the neighborhood.)

The telegenic Schulson, who was chef at Pod and New York's Buddakan and previously hosted the Style Network's Pantry Raid, says he's going for an open look, Momofuku-esque aesthetic, referring to David Chang's minimalist New York operation. One wall will have a lighting setup that will enable it to change color every few days.

During a walk-through of the space, being designed by Sparks Design, he explained that like many new projects nowadays, Sampan is not being overdone. It will be a modest 95 seats.

"I don't think people are looking to spend $2 million, $3 million [on developing a restaurant] nowadays," he said, choosing to say that he and partners would spend $250 a square foot for the build-out. Multiply that by 3,300 square feet, and that's $825,000. Not cheap, but consider that $300 to $350 is the "norm" in Center City.